4
Elizabeth and Roger question Victoria about Burke; Victoria meets a hostile David Collins. Synopsis : Opening narration : My name is Victoria Winters. The dark night presses in on the crest of Widows' Hill as though it were alive. I can almost feel it crushing against the windows, whispering to me, telling me to run while I can. But I've come too far and waited too long, and the fear of darkness is only for children. Teaser Victoria reads a book in bed while it storms outside. When her window becomes unlatched, she gets up to stop it from slamming. As she sits back on the bed, she hears the front door slam. Someone begins climbing the stairs in the foyer as Victoria brushes her hair. She gets up and goes to listen at the door as the person reaches for the knob. Elizabeth sees Roger about to enter Victoria's room and tells him to come downstairs with her. He tells her to go to bed, but she insists he do as she says. Act I Roger comes into the drawing room and pours himself a drink. Elizabeth chastises him for disrespecting their guest and threatens to kick him out of her house. Roger tells her that Burke Devlin accompanied Victoria on the train into town, but she tries to brush it off. He tells her Burke has become very wealthy and can't believe she's not going to do anything. He explains that he thinks Burke may have said something to Victoria and that's why he wants to talk with her. He gets angry that the girl was allowed to come to Collinwood and argues that he's as much a member of the family as Elizabeth is. He's not going to stand by while Burke tries to destroy him, or lock himself away in the house as she's done. Carolyn bursts in and compliments Roger on his speech. Act II Carolyn comments on the lack of sound-proofing in the house and Roger tells her not to be concerned with their discussion and to go back to bed. Carolyn wants to know if it's Burke Devlin that wants to kill him. She says that Victoria told her Roger blew a fuse when he heard Burke had given her a ride from the train station. She asks who Burke is. Elizabeth tells her he's just someone they used to know and isn't going to harm anyone. Roger requests Carolyn bring Miss Winters downstairs, but Elizabeth doesn't think it's a good idea. Carolyn stops their arguing and Elizabeth concedes that Victoria should come down and answer some questions. Carolyn goes upstairs to fetch Victoria. Elizabeth yells at Roger for the way he's acting and questions how their ancestors would handle the so-called problem. Roger tells her he's going to fight this battle his way. Act III Victoria lets Carolyn into her room and Carolyn defends Roger, saying he's had a rough time. She vaguely alludes to his wife (Victoria incorrectly thought that she was dead) and David, his handful of a son. Victoria asks what she's getting at and Carolyn says that Roger wants to ask her some questions downstairs. Victoria points out that it's almost midnight and Carolyn jokes that he turns into at the stroke of twelve. In the hall, Victoria inquires what he wants to ask her about, but she's leaving that up to him. Carolyn sends her to the drawing room, as she goes off to bed, expressing how glad she is that she's come to Collinwood. Before she heads downstairs, a door opens behind Victoria, then shuts quickly. In the drawing room, Elizabeth insists she be the one to talk to the girl. Victoria comes in and is asked about Burke. She explains that she met him at the station after she got off the train and he gave her a ride to the hotel. He didn't say anything in particular about the Collins family and never mentioned why he came back to Collinsport. Elizabeth says that will be all, but Roger has more questions. He sends Elizabeth off to bed, promising to speak with Victoria only for a few more minutes. With Elizabeth gone, he pours himself a drink. Act IV Roger is amused by Victoria's aversion to the pain of drinking brandy. The topic briefly turns to David and the difficulties he'll present to her, before returning to Burke Devlin. He believes she's withholding information about Burke. She admits his attitude towards Collinwood seemed negative, and he tried to talk her out of going there. Roger angrily begins grilling her for more information which she doesn't have. He disbelieves the coincidence that she and Burke were on the same train. Roger quickly changes his tone when Victoria gets upset about being interrogated and tries to leave. As the clock strikes midnight, Victoria heads back up to her room to get some sleep in case she decides to leave on the morning train. Tag At two in the morning, Victoria is awakened by loud sobbing sounds coming from somewhere in the house. She gets up to investigate and heads to the drawing room, but the sound stops. Returning to the foyer she discovers David on the staircase. The boy angrily tells her he hates her. Memorable quotes : David: I hate you. ---- : Roger: Elizabeth, someone has come back to destroy me, maybe to kill me, and I'm not gonna just sit here and do nothing! : Elizabeth: You say you're a Collins. Well, then act like one! If there's a problem to face, examine it, look into it, but don't reject it. : Roger: Shall I do as you do? Should I hide my head and wait for it to disappear? I'm not prepared to spend my life the way you have. Sitting in this house, waiting, never going out. That's not my way and it never will be. : (Carolyn enters) : Carolyn: A beautiful speech, Uncle Roger. Just beautiful. ---- : Roger: Pain sometimes precedes pleasure, Miss Winters, or are you too young to have discovered that yet? : Vicky: I'd rather avoid the pain as long as possible. Dramatis personae * ← Joan Bennett as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard → * ← Louis Edmonds as Roger Collins → * ← Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard → * David Henesy as David Collins → * ← Alexandra Moltke as Victoria Winters → * Florence Stanley as Sobbing Woman (uncredited) Background information and notes Production * First appearance of actor David Henesy and the character David Collins. * Carolyn mentions , this is the first reference to a vampire in the original series which would later become best known for its vampire character Barnabas Collins. * The sobbing voice would be next heard in 37. * The grand piano in the Collinwood drawing room is a Chickering, manufactured by Chickering & Sons (1823-1983) of Boston, Massachusetts. * This is the first episode to take place exclusively in Collinwood. Story * Elizabeth shows she has an odd, proprietorial concern for Victoria, going so far as to warn Roger to stay away from the new governess. * Carolyn jokes, that at the stroke of midnight, Roger turns into Dracula, an allusion to Bram Stoker's gothic horror novel . * The portraits of Theodore Collins and Benjamin Collins portraits hang in, or near, the drawing room of Collinwood. * TIMELINE: Day 2 begins, and will end in 20. Victoria is awakened at 2am by the sound of a female sobbing. Bloopers and continuity errors * The painting of Isaac Collins has moved since the last episode from the left side of the drawing room window to the right side. * Actress Joan Bennett has a hard time opening the drawing room doors to let Victoria in. * When Victoria spots David on the stairs at the end of the episode, the teleprompter can be seen on the far right and a crew member can be seen moving near the bottom of the screen. * In act III, after the door to David's room opens then closes, the camera swings wide to the right for a moment, revealing where the hallway wall ends with an empty space beyond. End credit announcements * ' ' made it's debut one year ago this week with top recording stars performing where the fun is. Come along for a real good time next, here on ABC. * Dark Shadows has been a Dan Curtis production. External Links Dark Shadows - Episode 4 on the IMDb The Collinsport Historical Society - Dark Shadows Diary - Episode 4 Gallery ( }}) 0004